Validation of phenomenon and cross-sectional investigation of predictors for a post-COVID-19 surge of osteoporosis outpatients in China

Abstract

AbstractAn unexpected surge of osteoporosis outpatients occurred after COVID-19 lockdown was lifted in China. To confirm the observation and identify possible reasons driving patients care seeking behaviors post-pandemic, we compared the outpatient volumes at the osteoporosis clinic in January through May, 2019–2022 and surveyed seven osteoporosis specialists across China to validate the phenomenon before devising an online questionnaire to collect patients’ characters and physical activity levels. Univariate and binary logistic regression analyses were calculated to identify predictors of post-lockdown care-seeking. We received 480 valid responses, including 397 (82.7%) patients having visited the clinic after lockdown and 83 (17.3%) having not. Four significant predictors were identified, including being female, experiencing pain, aggravating symptoms, and heightened anxiety during lockdown (P < 0.05). Both groups experienced lower physical activity levels during lockdown, which however was not a significant predictor (P = 0.317). The surge in osteoporosis outpatient visits after COVID-19 lockdown suggests vast latent demand for osteoporosis care accumulated during the pandemic. Four significant factors predict post-lockdown outpatient care-seeking, including being female, experiencing pain and aggravating symptoms, and heightened anxiety levels. Though physical activity levels decreased during lockdown, it failed to predict care-seeking. This demonstrates resilience of osteoporosis patients to resume regular care despite disruption and stress the substantial backlog of unmet healthcare needs.